The Pros & Cons of Working Remotely by Amiel Pineda of Grit PH

Pros:

1. Say goodbye to commute.

In the Philippines, where long queues of passengers in MRT are a daily source of news, this is a godsend. No need to experience MRT’s usual hiccups and delays that cost you time, energy, and money on a daily basis.

You can say goodbye to EDSA’s legendary heavy traffic, where a typical 30-minute commute turns into a 2-hr long fiasco of noise, pollution, and general source of stress—and you haven’t even started your workday yet.

2. Save on Money

Since there’s no commuting required, you don’t have to spend your hard-earned pesos on fare or gas. It also means not having to pay expensive toll fees if you live far from the metro when driving your car to the office.

Recommended Reading: How to Save More Money

It saves your car from early retirement and costly maintenance since you won’t be racking up miles as quickly. Food expenses go down dramatically, as lunch and breaks at the office are typically more expensive versus eating at home.

And did I mention coffee? You’ll spend a fraction of what you pay outside if you brew your own cup at home.

3. You get more sleep

Not waking up early to prep for work means having an extra hour or two of sleep. More sleep means better health.

4. You’ll have perfect attendance (almost)

Even with mild inconveniences, remote workers can still get some tasks done when working from home.

5. You have a flexible schedule

You can adjust your day to align with your most productive hours. Traditional office setting requires us to stick to the usual 8 to 5 schedule. When working remotely, you have the power to decide when you want to start and stop working, as long as you get the job done.

Note that some companies may still require you to be constantly “present” during the day through company-approved messaging apps for collaboration.

6. You can work anywhere you want

In the mood for some mocha latte? Pack up your laptop and head to the nearest coffee shop for a quick fix and a few hours of work.

Most home-based jobs only require an internet connection for actual work and communication, so you can virtually set up your workspace anywhere as long as you’re online.

7. More time for yourself and loved ones

Filipinos love being around family. Having an online (or telecommute) job means you’re getting back the hours you spend on daily travel and commute. Precious hours you now can spend leisurely for yourself and loved ones.

Read Next: How to Become a Minimalist.

8. You get more productive

Some studies show that working remotely increases an employee’s productivity. Why? Part of the reason this happens is because offices can be incredibly distracting places.

To quote one of the people who ran the study, “Also, people at home worked more hours. They started earlier, took shorter breaks, and worked until the end of the day. They had no commute. They didn’t run errands at lunch.”

9. You are your own boss

And of course, the potential to earn more money.

Being your own boss means you get to set your own terms. You decide how you want to work, how much you want to get paid, set the number of hours, decide where you want to work, who to work with, and more.

Being your own boss means there’s no limit in terms of earning capacity, you can leverage your time and effort in projects that will give maximum profit.

Hat tip to Bryan Villarosa for the following tips:

10. Diversity

You get to experience a wider range of diversity by working with other ethnicities and nationalities in remote work.

Especially working with foreign clients, you may get exposed to varying degrees of mindsets, cultures, and behaviours which could widen your outlook in life and deepen your global understanding of peoples.

11. Access a global pool of employers

compared to local employment, you are not limited by the distance radius from your home as long as you have the technologies with you. When your work ends, you could find another client the moment you land on the homepage job feed- this can somehow add to your job security.

Some may argue that remote work has no security of tenure, but I would say that there are clients as well that offer an employee-type of hiring, with all the entitlements of paid leaves, vacations, and benefits. You could also use that remote work experience as part of your resume when you apply to local companies in the future, or even updating your LinkedIn profile.

I would further comment that the common notion “security of tenure is only applicable to government or local jobs” is not true, because no one really is certain about the future e.g. pandemics, natural disasters, etc. and what matters is our preparation and response.

12. Avoiding office politics

In my 11 years of experience with Upwork clients, I have never experienced the so-called “office politics” phenomenon.

Work is work.

You are hired (or fired) based on your outputs, performance, and project availability. If you are the kind of person who wants to avoid these classic unsightly episodes and simply compete against yourself, remote work is one better option.

Cons:

1. Lack of social interaction 

Since you’re away from your colleagues, it’s difficult to interact with them naturally. Sure you have chat and other team messaging platforms, but you’re still missing out on the usual face-to-face banter you can only get from working in the office.

2. There are a lot of distractions at home

Netflix, YouTube, online games, social media—time sucks that can consume your whole day if you’re not mindful or disciplined. For most remote workers, this is perhaps the biggest hurdle they face at the start.

Family members can also have a negative effect on your output if they do not cooperate with you regarding your setup and not respectful of your schedule.

3. You’re output highly depends on your time management

If you’re a slacker, working remotely might not be a good idea. You’ll only expose yourself to procrastination since you’ll have more freedom to do stuff you want to do. If you don’t develop and follow a strict schedule, your productivity will suffer.

4. You’re dependent on technology

A remote job depends on the Internet and all devices that allow you to work away from the confines of the office. If you have connection or device issues, it can severely damage your output.

5. Security and Data Risks

Since you’re always connected to the internet, there’s always the chance of security breach. If you’re working on confidential company data, there’s a higher chance of these types of risks occurring versus working in the office where they have strict security protocols in place.

6. Less job security

As work can be inconsistent (particularly for freelancers). And projects/contracts under this type of work setup typically don’t have benefits.

(Ctto: https://grit.ph/remote-jobs/)